After hosting two successful VIP Debate Clubs in the Eastern Cape – on free education and a #PolicyHackZA on the NSFAS Act, here is a round-up of some of the best suggestions from our audience members at Fort Hare University.

“We need to be honest with ourselves: many of us are on NSFAS when we shouldn’t be. There are children of chiefs who are on NSFAS. There are people falsifying documents – writing in affidavits that their family has seven dependents when it isn’t true. If we eradicated that, there would be change afterward.”

“As it stands, there’s a shortfall because the government allocates money without knowing the need. The government needs to determine the need, and then allocate funds according to that.

“We need an electronic system. Take out the human element and you will see, money won’t go missing.”

“Why aren’t there regional offices for NSFAS? They aren’t here [at this debate] because we’re all the way in the Eastern Cape. But if they had regional offices they would be able to respond directly to issues affecting people here.”

“It’s not NSFAS’s responsibility to manage and track universities’ fee structures. It’s the responsibility of the Department of High Education and Training.”

“The private sector needs to be more involved in funding education. They are the ones that need the talent – so they must pay an education tax to make sure that happens.”

We want to know what you think. Send us your thoughts and suggestions on how we can fix NSFAS and help improve the higher education funding.

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